Sleeping sites of black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) at Baima Snow Mountain, China

Abstract

Data on sleeping sites of a group of black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus bieti (Colobinae, Primates) were collected between April-July and September-December 2001 to try to determine the factors affecting site selection at Nanren (99104 0 E, 28134 0 N, Baima Snow Mountain, China). Sleeping trees were tall emergents (27.5 AE 3.2 m) with large diameter at breast height (57.9 AE 16.9 cm) and broad crown diameters (6.3 AE 1.4 m), and significantly larger than other trees. The use of large sleeping trees could provide effective shelters from attacks of terrestrial and aerial predators, heavy snow and rain. Sleeping sites were changed nightly and located at significantly lower altitudes in winter months than in other seasons, which might be a thermoregulatory adaptation or related to snow covering. Such sites tended to be at the middle of sun-oriented slopes, possibly trading off predator avoidance and foraging efficiency.

Long‐term patterns of sleeping site use in wild saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and mustached tamarins (S. mystax): Effects of foraging, thermoregulation, predation, and resource defense constraints

“…Of particular significance is that there was no indication of an asymptote being reached in sleeping site recruitment for any of the groups observed, despite some having been observed for 300 nights and having used more than 80 different sites. The driving force for this may be either the need to minimize the build up of odor or other cues (Reichard 1998), the potential for a predator to develop a search image for a particular site type (Sonerud 1985) or to minimize infection with parasites or other diseases (Hausfater & Maede 1982;Day & Elwood 1999;Cui et al 2006).…”

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“…Data about patterns of sleeping site selection have already been published for another group of R. bieti at Mount Fuhe, located at the southern edge of the distribution range of this species (Liu & Zhao 2004). Additional data have been made available from Xiaochangdu/Tibet (Xiang 2005) and Nanren/Baimaxueshan North (Cui 2003a;Cui & Xiao 2006) in the northern part of the geographical range of R. bieti. The present work should complement the existing database by adding data from the middle part of this species' distribution (Samage/ Baimaxueshan South).…”

“…Rhinopithecus bieti at Mount Fuhe sleep preferentially in conifer trees (Liu & Zhao 2004). Similarly, at Nanren, large emergent conifers with wide crowns are among the preferred sleeping trees (Cui & Xiao 2006). Also at Xiaochangdu, tall conifer trees, with highlying and long first branches were selected (Xiang 2005).…”

“…The monkeys' choice of sleeping places is thought to reflect their thermoregulatory needs and possibly also predation (Cui 2003a;Liu & Zhao 2004). At all sites, they show a clear preference for hillsides instead of valleys or mountain ridges (Liu & Zhao 2004;Xiang 2005;Cui & Xiao 2006). We followed a free-ranging group of R. bieti in the Samage Forest, located the animals' roosting sites and subsequently investigated the botanical and architectural attributes of sleeping trees in specifically designed "sleeping site plots."…”

“…The "stability hypothesis" asserts that sleeping trees are stable, do not fall and have branches that offer firm support and do not shed (e.g. Di Bitetti et al 2000;Cui & Xiao 2006). According to the "climate hypothesis," sleeping places should be chosen so as to minimize exposure to extreme weather conditions (e.g.…”